International news

U.S. journalist escapes Taliban captivity

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - David Rohde, a New York Times investigative reporter kidnapped seven months ago by Taliban forces in Afghanistan, has escaped his captors and is now under the protection of the U.S. military, the newspaper reported Saturday.

Rohde was abducted Nov. 10 outside Kabul along with a local reporter, Tahir Ludin, and their driver while researching a book on American involvement in Afghanistan.

According to the Times, Rohde and Ludin scaled a wall of a compound in the mountainous North Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they were being held, and made their way to a Pakistani army base, from which they were flown Saturday to the U.S. army base in Bagram, Afghanistan.

News of Rohde's and Ludin's capture is as fresh as word of their escape. The Times did not report the kidnapping at the time and requested other media keep the story under wraps as well, fearing publicity might jeopardize the men's safety.

The Times
NYT, +1.08%
said Rohde, 41, was in good health, while Ludin, 35, injured his foot during the escape. No ransom money was paid to facilitate the escape, The Times said.

This wasn't Rohde's first brush with captivity. He was held for 10 days by Serbian authorities while reporting on human rights abuses during the war in Bosnia in the 1990s.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.